That's not to say he couldn't have done some things better. While I'll give him a pass on Carl Crawford's inexplicable backslide to mediocrity this season, Epstein deserves criticism for making deals for Julio Lugo, John Lackey and Bobby Jenks, just to name a few.

Following this season's 7-20 September, we frequently overlook the good he has done, however. Consider:

1) He cobbled together a group of lightly regarded veterans -- Kevin Millar, David Ortiz and Bill Mueller among them -- to join with Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek and other established Red Sox players to form the nucleus of a team that nearly made the 2003 World Series, then won it in 2004. For that, true fans will be eternally grateful.

2) He made the team consistently competitive. Since Epstein took over, the Red Sox won two World Series and fielded six 95-win teams. The team had four 95-win seasons in the previous 53 years.

3) He allowed several players in the Red Sox system to develop into stars. Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz all count in that regard. Many of them could have been traded at various points in their careers. Remember the rumored deal for Johan Santana that never happened? It would have cost Boston at least two key cogs in recent seasons, potentially including Ellsbury, Lester or Buchholz.

4) He made the gorilla suit fashionable.

I kid about No. 4, but the point is that we shouldn't forget how fickle baseball is. Sure, the Red Sox have spent big mone in recent seasons. So have the Mets, Phillies, Tigers and several other teams not named the Yankees. Their playoff success has been spotty, too.

With all that said, there's no reason to panic if Epstein leaves Boston. It'll be fascinating theater, but as The Republican's Ron Chimelis pointed out, it will be business as usual assuming owner John Henry promotes assistant general manager Ben Cherington.

Back in 2002, as ["Moneyball" author Michael] Lewis and [Oakland A's general manager Billy] Beane were collaborating, Epstein worked with Cherington, Craig Shipley, now the senior vice president of player personnel and international scouting, and their fellow whiz kids in the basement of Fenway on a project of their own.

There was no established Red Sox Way, so they set out to define it: They began writing a player-development manual. "Everything from bunt plays to how we want our hitters to be selectively aggressive at the plate," Epstein says, "to what requirements we have to be a starting pitcher to how you throw your bullpens—every fundamental and every philosophical idea." They also wrote a companion manual, on scouting, because "what the scouts look for has to match up with your development philosophy."

Say what you want about the team's recent failures, those manuals likely contributed heavily to team's success over the last decade. I'll take the good with the bad and hope they keep a similar mindset, whether Epstein stays or not.